A dream?
by A flying Ikaruga
Summary: One-shot. After the battle with Magus, Crono finds himself in a village far away from his time. Is this merely a dream? After all, he was sure he had never encountered someone like the black-haired girl Velvet in his life before. Expect spoilers for both games.


**Disclaimer: I don't own either franchise.**

* * *

 **A dream?**

"What is going on!?" Exclaimed a teen with red, spiky hair sporting a white bandanna and an orange scarf. He was dressed in a blue tunic above a green shirt and beige pants with brown boots. He carried a wallet on his waist filled with food and other items that helped him and his friends in many battles.

His name was Crono.

Currently, he was staring wide-eyed at the distortion appearing on all his dark surroundings. His other two friends who accompanied him imitated his actions. One of them was an anthropomorphic frog dressed in armor and white pants with light blue boots, carrying the mythical sword Masamune on his waist and a shield on his back. He was called Glenn when he was a human.

His other friend was a purple haired girl wearing glasses and an intricate helmet with an antenna on the right side. She was dressed in a long sleeved a long-sleeved dark teal-green shirt under an orange tunic. She also wears a dark yellow scarf around her neck, and a pair of dark brown boots on her feet. On her belt, she carried a small brown bag and a much larger one similar to the spiky haired male. She was Lucca, Crono's childhood friend.

Currently, they had just finished battling an evil wizard who had caused havoc on the middle ages, Magus, in hopes of stopping the awakening of a being who would destroy the Earth in the future, Lavos. However, as soon as the battle had finished, a strange phenomena just triggered out of nowhere causing severe distortions all over the castle room they had been battling.

"You fools! If you hadn't interfered!" Shouted Magus in front of them, now with an angered and somewhat terrified look on his pale face.

The distortions became more and more noticeable by the second, when suddenly a gigantic dark blue hole appeared behind the wizard.

"That's...a time gate!?" Exclaimed Lucca, bewildered by the sight. The pressure on the room suddenly became much more prominent, with the now dubbed time gate acting as an extremely powerful vacuum for our heroes. Magus, weakened by the earlier fight against the three, was the first one to be sucked in.

"Oh no! Everybody hang on!" Shouted Crono grabbing the arm of his childhood friend and offering his other hand to Glenn, who took it without second thoughts.

"It's way too strong lad!"

The other male turned to Lucca, "can you close it with the Gate Key?" he asked. His friend took no time in pulling out said item to test if she could do so, but nothing happened.

"I can't! This gate is too powerful..." She said with a sad and terrified tone.

The pressure increased, and Glenn was torn out from the grasp of his friend, falling victim to the gate.

"Glenn!" The other two shouted, before being pulled towards the vacuum themselves. As soon as they disappeared within it, the gate closed and everything returned to normal, like nothing had happened in the first place.

* * *

In another place, a girl with long black hair tied in a red head-band at the end, walked through the village she resided with her younger brother and mentor. Dressed in in a reddish shirt with pockets, dark pants, and a pair of brown, western-like boots. Currently, the girl was carrying a few grocery bags filled with food and other necessities for her family.

' _The medicine for Laphi has not arrived yet. I just hope he can hang on until it does._ ' She thought with a sad frown on her face. Laphicet, or "Laphi" as she had nicknamed him, was the last of her family alive. Well, her mentor Arthur also counted, but she was much more closer to Laphicet, especially after everything they had gone through in the past.

' _No, he **will** be ok. He has to!_ ' She told herself with a determined look on her face as she trudged down the road to her house. The road was long and it was surrounded by a beautiful forest filled with leafy trees that painted it with a honey-like mosaic of colors that fell on earth, sharing their colors in a breathtaking view.

A loud 'thud' stopped her dead in her track. Looking around, she tried to find the source of the sound, but found nothing more than silence. Passing her bags to her left arm, she unsheathed her gauntlet blade that rested on her wrist and narrowed her eyes.

"Hello?" She called out, keeping her eyes trained in all possible directions for any kind of attack. A myriad of thoughts raced through her brain while trying to figure out what could have made that noise. Supposedly, daemons weren't able to get close to the village, so what else could be it?

Walking to the place she believed she had heard the noise, the girl raised her blade in preparing for the worst. The place had a few bushes which blocked from seeing beyond. The perfect place for a surprise attack.

A bead of sweat trailed down fer temple the closer she got to the bushes. Putting down the groceries, the female prepared herself for jumping at whatever was hiding behind the plants.

With a swift movement, the girl jumped above the bushes expecting any kind of attack on her person. But found herself completely unharmed.

What she DIDN'T expect though, was to find a spiky haired individual laying on the grass face down. The mere presence of another person made her instincts of worrying kick off. "Oh my..." she muttered.

"Are you ok?" The girl sheathed her blade and went on her knees to check up on the mysterious man. Well, at least the girl thought he was a man due to his strange red spiky hair and extremely well-built arms. She blushed in embarrassment at thinking such stuff. There were more important things to do now!

A groan made her come back to reality in a flash, and she saw the man moving with a bit of difficulty.

"Hang on, let me help you." She said while putting a hand on his shoulder and slowly turning him around. When she did, she found herself staring at a handsome and youthful face. The girl determined that he was probably not much older than her.

His eyes slowly opened, blinking repeatedly to adjust his sight, and the girl found herself staring at the most beautiful pair of sapphire eyes she had ever seen.

' _Get a grip on yourself!_ ' She mentally scolded herself.

Oblivious to the girl's struggle, our favorite spiky haired hero, Crono, used his elbows as support to sit on the grassy terrain while massaging his head.

' _Ouch, what in the world happened?_ ' He asked mentally while analyzing his surroundings in more detail. If he was honest, this had to be one of the most fantastic forests he had ever encountered in his life, and that's saying a lot considering he had traveled to many different times and epochs.

"I'm glad you are awake. Are you hurt?" He heard a feminine voice speak next to him. Curious, he turned his head to see who had spoken, and found himself staring at a girl who, for the lack of a better term in his vocabulary, was absolutely **gorgeous:** Long dark hair braided in a long tail and an angelic face with pale skin and chestnut colored eyes which currently stared at him with kindness he had never seen on a human being before. Despite trying to fight it down, he couldn't help but blush a bit at the female in front of him.

Unconsciously, he asked himself if this was all a dream to begin with. The scenery, the girl, it all spoke of surrealism, and too good to be true. Still, something else told him that this was something else, especially since he would have remembered if he had seen her before. Even so, he couldn't help but welcome the change, considering the dark place he and his friends had been fighting before...

Wait a second...

At that moment, a surge of memories raced through his brain, and the last of bit of red from his face disappeared, replaced by a worried look which the girl immediately took notice.

"Is something wrong?" She asked seeing the male rapidly looking at his surroundings in bewilderment, but he ignored her completely, being too focused on finding his friends. Laying down while putting his hands at the sides of his head, he gave himself a mighty impulse, jumping and landing on his feet in an expertly performed maneuver, surprising the girl.

He immediately started to look around and expanding his senses to search for their magical power, but found nothing.

His friends were probably on another time or another place. After all, that time gate they encountered was gigantic to say the least.

"You know, it's rude to ignore a girl like that." He heard behind him and found the same woman with her hands on her hips staring at him with a slight stern look.

Feeling like an idiot for completely forgetting about her, he scratched the back of his head with an apologetic semblance, complimented by a dumb smile. "Oh, sorry about that." He spoke for the first time, "it's just that me and my friends had an accident and ended up separated." He decided to keep the time travel parts for himself. He didn't want to get a human being involved in their perilous quest if he could avoid it.

"Oh, that's bad." She spoke with sincerity in her voice, while adopting a thinking position, "hmm, how about I help you look for them? I just need to take some groceries home and I'll be free to do so." She smiled at him causing him to blush again. He hoped she didn't see it.

Knowing that he couldn't find any magical source in the vicinity, he highly doubted they would find them anywhere close, or even in this time at all. Besides, he didn't want to endanger the life of another human being.

"It's ok." He responded, surprising her in the process, "we always end up bumping into each other. It's not a problem." He added, secretly hoping she would desist from her proposition.

The girl looked like she wanted to say something about it, but sighed, "if you say so...still, let me know if you need any help, ok?" She spoke kindly, to which he couldn't help but grin and nod.

At that moment, a loud growl emanated from the forest, making the girl stop and unsheathe her gauntlet sword preparing for any monster that tried to jump on them.

"Stay close to me." She spoke with a serious tone. Yet again, she stopped herself when she heard a chuckle coming from the man. Curiously, she turned around and saw the spiky haired man scratching his head again with his usual dumb smile looking apologetic.

The growl was coming from his stomach.

The girl couldn't help but laugh at the situation, sheathing her sword once again. "Hungry, huh?" She smirked.

Crono could merely nod silently and curse himself for his recklessness. He knew he should have eaten before entering Magus' castle and now he was paying the consequences.

"Don't worry." The girl said smiling, "let me just take these groceries to the house, and then I'll make you something to eat. What do you say?"

"Awesome!" He exclaimed, before shaking his head and smiling, "I mean...if it isn't too much trouble that is."

She couldn't help but giggle at his childish antics, before standing up and motioning him to follow her, "my house is close, we should be there in a few minutes." Her eyes then widened in realization.

"Oh, silly me. I never introduced myself. My name is Velvet, Velvet Crowe." The girl said extending her hand for a handshake, which the male responded to enthusiastically.

"My name is Crono, just Crono. It's nice to meet you Velvet!"

"That's a cool name." She said with a smile, causing him to grin in response. After all, most people just thought his name was weird, being named like that.

Without further ado, both teens parted to Velvet's house.

* * *

Like Velvet had said, they arrived a few minutes later at her house. If Crono had to be honest with himself, the architecture was not that different from the houses at his time. That thought brought a pang of sadness, but he ignored it. He was currently on a quest to save the entire world from utter destruction by the hands of Lavos, and he couldn't afford to get comfy for too long. Still, he wished nothing but to take a few hours off the entire ordeal. His battle with Magus had almost drained him dry of energy, and he needed some food and rest. Velvet had already offered him food, but he would not try to ask for a lodging out of her. After all, he felt like he was taking advantage of her kindness.

"Laphi, I'm home!" She called out after opening the door with her keys.

"Welcome home, Velvet." They heard a child-like voice call out to them, or more specifically, the girl accompanying Crono. He saw Velvet smile sadly, while she entered, but it had disappeared in favor of his usual happy one when she turned to him. It caught him off guard for a bit and made him wonder if there was something wrong. Still, he held back from asking for now. After all, he was a guest and he had no right to intrude in her life just like that.

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a boy that appeared to be no more than 11 years old, with straight sandy-blonde hair and the same chestnut eyes as Velvet. However, the male was surprised to see that he was sickly pale, and sitting on a bed with half-opened eyes with dark bags under them. His clothes, which consisted of dark green sweater over a warm-looking beige shirt, only contributed to his slowly growing suspicions.

' _They must be brothers._ ' Thought Crono as she saw Velvet leave the groceries on the dinner table and embrace the child with palpable love and care. Not wanting to interrupt the scene, Crono just stood on the entrance with a smile on his face. People like these siblings were the main reason that fueled his desire to put his life on the line on the quest to save the flow of time.

"Who's him, Velvet?" He heard Laphi ask, making him come back to reality as he saw him staring with his chestnut colored eyes.

"Oh, he's Crono. I found him laying on the forest, and he was hungry, so I decided to prepare him some food since he doesn't have any...I think?" She finished unsure while looking at the spiky male, something to which he nodded implying she was correct. The boy, "Laphi" as she called him, stared at her with widened eyes, only to smile much more than before.

"You're always such a good person sister, looking out for others." He said warmly towards her, confirming Crono's thoughts. Velvet blushed a bit in embarrassment at the praise.

"I can tell that your sister is a really good person. No one whom I am practically a stranger to has offered me food just like that." The spiky-haired boy added, sincerity coating each and every word. Even so, he didn't understand why Velvet only responded with a stiff nod and much more pronounced blush than before.

"Um Velvet, are you sick?" He asked with some concern lacing his tone, only to which she shook her head rapidly.

"N-no, not at all. I'm a-ok." She said while cursing herself slightly for stuttering. It didn't help that in her perspective, Crono was an extremely good-looking man, with toned arms and handsome face. Heck, even his spiky hair just added to his charm.

' _Stop it Velvet. You have merely known him for a few hours._ ' She told herself over and over again. Thankfully for her, she managed to do all this while preparing the food without either male noticing.

She just hoped her younger brother wouldn't get any ideas.

Laphicet turned his eyes on their guest once again, smiling kindly at him.

"By the way, my name is Laphicet. Nice to meet you Crono." The boy spoke weakly while lifting his small hand to the older male for another handshake. Crono immediately took notice of the struggle on his action and helped him by supporting his small arm with his much bigger one, and delicately grabbing his hand with the other. While he was calmly shaking his hand, all the pieces fell into place for the hero of time.

Velvet's brother was sick, perhaps terribly so.

"Nice to meet you too Laphicet." He spoke calmly, while offering a small smile, understanding a bit of his situation.

The next few hours flew by, which surprised Crono and Velvet. They both thought that it would be awkward to eat with a stranger over their house. In Crono's case, he found himself having the time of his life with the siblings. Their kindness was so palpable that the spiky haired male was grateful for it. Slowly but surely, he started to break the ice while they ate, speaking about hobbies and other common things that they usually did, sometimes even throwing bits of his adventures with his friends so far while hiding the aspects of time-travel, which the brothers believed by seeing the katana at his side. They marveled at the thought of traveling to various places and see so many different cultures and people.

For the brothers, they had thought that indeed, eating with a stranger would be extremely awkward. They might have been kind, but they weren't completely naive and kept a bit of their guards up. However, all of this quickly crumbled the more Crono just talked calmly with the biggest grin on his face, complimenting Velvet's cooking by comparing it to the best of the best, getting a weird blush and a shy thanks from her which he didn't ask about. The male exuded an aura of calmness and familiarity that they had never felt before, drawing them more and more to him like he was someone whom they have known their entire life. An aura that made them feel safe from harm, and promised nothing but a warm welcome to people. Not even Arthur, someone who had lived with them for years, had this kind of feel.

As a result, by the time it was sunset, they were all talking to each other like they were friends from all time, though the mood changed somewhat when Laphicet started coughing all of a sudden.

"Oh no! Laphi, are you ok!?" Velvet asked worriedly.

"*cough* I'm fine, Velvet, I just choked on a bit of food, that's all." He responded with a weak smile. Still, he saw Velvet with a frown on her face.

"There should be some herbs around here to make you some medicine Laphi. You two wait for me here, I'll be back soon." She said standing up.

"Wait Velvet, I'll go with you." Said Crono following her, making her stop to look at him. "If Laphicet's sick, I want to help in anyway I can to make him feel better." He spoke sincerely. His words touched Velvet, thanking him as they made their way out leaving Laphicet alone in his bed.

"Those two look good together." Laphicet commented innocently with a smile.

* * *

Outside, Velvet and Crono started gathering the herbs needed for making the medicine. Since Crono pretty much knew nothing, Velvet instructed him what to get and what to avoid.

"Hey Velvet, does Laphicet have a cold or something?" He asked curiously out of nowhere, which made her stop. After a few seconds of silence, Crono became concerned that perhaps he had made a mistake.

Before he could apologize though, he heard her say something very softly.

"He...has a terminal illness." She said with sadness lacing her words.

Dropping the herbs in shock, he turned to her with his eyes wide open, "what!?" He half-whispered, half-shouted in disbelief. Velvet ushered him to keep quiet.

"I don't know the origin of it, but it's called "Twelve Year Sickness"," She began while Crono listened intently, "I...I have tried everything I can, but...apparently there's no cure for this disease at all. It ends up killing the host when he or she turns twelve...and Laphi's eleven." She tried to keep the tears that formed on her eyes from spilling. In all honesty, she didn't know why she revealed this to someone who was basically a stranger. Perhaps she just needed to vent some pressure, and Crono had only demonstrated to be a very friendly person.

She was desperately hanging onto her last days with her younger brother, and it was slowly killing her.

Crono couldn't believe her words. Now he knew why she had smiled sadly when they entered the house the first time, and it was worse than he thought. It tore his heart to see such a kind girl like her being tortured like this, and desperately thought of a way to help her.

 _'But how?'_

At that moment, a memory entered his mind. It was a memory of a special kind of potion he had found while he was at Magus' castle. Remembering how he had used one on one of his most brutal battles, he smiled at the newfound hope that built in him.

Velvet slowly cleaned her tears with her hands, not once looking up in order to hide her pain as much as she could from her guest. However, she couldn't help but look up as she heard footsteps closing in to her, before a pair of strong hands calmly gripped her shoulders reassuringly. She found herself staring at a pair of determined sapphire eyes which made her stomach flutter.

"Be strong, Velvet." She heard Crono say confidently. Before she could retort, the male stood up and walked back to the house.

"Wait, where are you going?" She asked the male. Crono merely responded by looking at her from the corner of his eye with a confident smirk.

"Trust me." And then he motioned her to follow him.

Intrigued by his words, the black-haired female could only comply with his request.

* * *

Laphicet's eyes instinctively moved to the door as soon as he heard it open up. He saw both teenagers enter empty handed, which made him curious.

"You're back pretty soon. Usually Velvet takes a couple hours." He responded with a cheeky smile.

Said girl huffed crossing her arms, "no, I do not."

Crono ignored them as he walked over to Laphicet, making the boy curious at his proximity. The spiky-haired male crouched to his eye level while putting a hand on his head reassuringly, adding to his curiosity even more.

Standing up once again, both brothers looked at him expectantly while Crono opened his wallet and started rummaging through his items. After a bit of searching, he smiled after grasping a small flask, and pulled it out of the wallet. Laphicet stared at the flask like it was some precious treasure, since it contained a golden-colored liquid that looked...extravagant to say the least.

"What's that?" He couldn't help but ask the older male, to which he smirked.

"This, my friend, is called an elixir. It is considered to be one of the most powerful medicines from my place. This little one has gotten me out of so much troubles it's almost unbelievable. Velvet told me you were really sick, so I thought, why don't we test it out? Trust me, I know first hand how powerful this stuff can be." He explained with his smirk widening.

"Wow! Really!?" Velvet exclaimed with newfound hope in her heart. Crono nodded confidently.

Without wasting a second, she started rummaging through the utensils until she found a spoon and gave it to the man, who graciously accepted it muttering a thanks to her.

Sitting in the chair in front of the dying child, Crono opened up the flask, letting an impossibly sweet and delightful aroma coat the room they were in.

"That smells heavenly." Muttered Laphicet closing his eyes.

"And it tastes better." Added the male while putting a bit of the liquid on the spoon, and presenting it to the younger Crowe.

Without further ado, he swallowed the liquid whole, licking his lips at the marvelous taste.

Both Crono and Velvet (who had moved next to the male), stared anxiously for any changes in the younger sibling. The swordsman knew that elixirs usually had immediate results.

And then...

"Wow!" Exclaimed Laphicet so loudly for the first time in his life, "I feel like new!" he touched his throat and head, "the headaches, the weakness, the cough, and even the fever...it's all gone!"

They even saw his skin returning to normal.

"Laphi...is...is it really you?" The older Crowe asked, not believing her eyes at what had transpired. A single spoonful of whatever liquid Crono had brought up had cured all the symptoms that not even the most powerful medicine of her village could do.

"Yes Velvet! It's really me!" Lapicet smiled broadly.

It was a miracle.

"LAPHI!" She shouted tearfully embracing him with all the strength she could muster, crying with all her strength not giving a second thought that Crono was present. Speaking of which, he was currently putting the chair away and staring shocked at the elixir like it was a precious treasure given to man.

 _'Holy crap! This stuff is awesome! I'm so gonna buy many more of these when I get back.'_

In all honesty this was the second time he used the elixir, but he wasn't kidding when he stated previously that it was powerful as heck. The first time he used it, he had sustained so many fatal wounds that any normal human would have died, but hey, they didn't need to know that, did they?

"Velvet, what are you..." He heard Laphicet say before the swordsman felt a pair of slender yet strong arms crushing the life out of him. Before he could respond, he felt a pair of soft lips...kissing him!

His mind went overdrive when he realized Velvet was the 'perpetrator' of all this.

"Wha-mmmmph!" He tried to say before being silenced again by her lips. She then kissed his cheeks over and over again while muttering tearful "thank you"s over and over again.

Crono was pretty sure his face resembled a tomato, and yet he smiled when she had calmed down with the kissing, embracing her while patting her back.

"Could you two please do that elsewhere." Squeaked Laphicet while covering his eyes. As soon as she heard him, Velvet separated from Crono while scratching his head in embarrasment, while our hero was pretty much still coming to terms with what had happened. He knew Velvet would be extremely thankful, so he expected a big hug. He would have done the same if he were her shoes, but he was seriously caught off guard when she had even kissed him. On the mouth nonetheless!

Sadly, as much as his hormones acted up on the kiss, his devotion to save the flow of time and the planet completely obliterated that desire. He knew he couldn't stay in this place, or this time, whatever time it was. Sooner or later, he would have to go back to the battlefield, and he dared not give false hopes to the elder Crowe's in anyway.

In the end, he ignored those feelings and laughed heartily at the success of the medicine in curing Laphicet, and both Crowe's joined him soon after.

* * *

 ** _Hours later_**

It was nighttime and something inside Crono had told him to stay awake. It was like an instinctive omen that rummaged inside his soul and kept him restless. Deciding that rest would pretty much be fruitless, the spiky haired hero stood up from the mat on the floor. Putting on his boots, he decided to go for a walk on the forest outside the house. Velvet had pretty much insisted that he slept on their house as a bit of a payment, despite his various protests that he didn't need anything in return.

As soon as he stood up however, he missed the pair of chestnut colored eyes that opened up when he opened the door.

Outside, Crono had started to head back to the place where Velvet had first found him, taking in the calm and chilly breeze that the night provided him with.

"Crono?" He heard a familiar voice calling out to him, making the male turn to see Velvet jogging up to him, with curiosity on her face.

"Hey Velvet." The man greeted her with a smile on his face.

"What are you doing up so late?"

"I just...I couldn't sleep haha."

Velvet felt guilty for that. In her mind, it was probably what she had done in a fit of uncontrollable feelings to him.

"I'm...I'm sorry for doing what I did before...t-the k-k-kissing I mean." she stuttered lowering her head, "I was just so happy to see Laphi so healthy after all this time."

Her eyes teared up once again, "there are no words to express how grateful I am to you. In merely one day, you have impacted my life so much it's unbelievable."

He felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Crono with a comforting smile on his face, "I am glad to hear that Velvet. The fact that I could do something for someone else is more than enough for me."

 _'It's really hard not to have a crush on him._ ' She thought with a blush.

At that moment, they both heard a strange sound coming from the bushes.

"What could that be?" Velvet asked out loud, but she hear no response coming from the man, which caused her to look at him, "Crono?"

Said one was simply staring at the bushes with a serious face mixed with sadness. Without answering to her, he slowly walked to the amount of plants, crossing them to look for the source without any precaution.

"Hey, Crono!" She jogged after him, finding him alone in the grass standing in front of a mysterious dark-blue ball which floated a bit from the floor.

"You know, it's rude to ignore a girl like that." She tried to make lightheartedness out of the situation, but this time, Crono didn't turn around, merely replying "sorry about that" with a more serious tone.

It was only seconds later that he turned around with a face filled with sadness, which made Velvet widen his eyes.

"What is that thing?" She asked pointing to the floating ball behind him.

Again, he didn't answer immediately.

"It's..." He gulped, "my way back." He responded.

Velvet stood speechless at his answer, darting her eyes back and forth between the bizarre object and the man. A million questions formed on her head.

What was that thing?

Why was Crono so calm about this?

...Who was Crono?

"I have a feeling you're not going to tell me what it is, right?" Her tone wasn't angry or disappointed, merely sad.

Crono's face contorted in guilt. He wanted to tell her who he was, he wanted to tell her about his friends, and the perilous quest he was currently undertaking to save not only her, or her brother, but even time itself.

But he didn't, he couldn't. He just couldn't endanger Velvet like that, and worse, he couldn't just include someone on his journey when death was always at the turn of a corner. Lucca, Marle and Glenn were exceptions, mostly due to their deep understanding of what was to come, and their stubbornness of accompanying him after numerous time he had told them it would be dangerous.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Then he felt her embracing him, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You have done nothing but being a fantastic person since you arrived here." She spoke with some tears filling her eyes, but she refused to let them out.

 _'Be strong.'_ She remembered his words.

"Will...will I see you again?" She hoped the emotions weren't as clear when she said that.

As much as Crono wanted to cheer her up, telling her something cliche or hollowly delightful, he decided not to. Life was hard, and sometimes you just needed to speak the truth in your heart.

"I don't know."

He felt her nodding her head on his muscular torso. She separated from him once again while wiping out her tears.

"Thank you...for everything." She smiled beautifully, despite the sadness within her. "Take care of yourself, ok?"

Before he could stop her, Velvet turned back and started walking away.

"No matter the distance. We will always be friends!" He shouted, stopping her dead in her tracks. She turned once more with a much more happy smile this time.

"Of course we will."

And then, she ran back the way she had came.

Crono sighed turning once again to the strange ball, pulling out a replica of the Gate Key that Lucca had lent him in case something like this happened. One day, and he was not only leaving yet another friend behind, but he had also made someone cry.

 _'Life is seriously tough sometimes.'_ He thought while touching the ball with the tip of the key, making it expand into a portal he had used numerous times by now. Without thinking it twice, he jumped into time vortex without looking back.

After it closed, the ball disappeared without leaving a trace, disconnecting any kind of connection with the mysterious world.

* * *

"Crono..."

"Crono..."

"Wake up dammit!"

And then he felt a hard smack on the head which made him stand up in a flash, sobbing his head with tears on his eyes.

"Ouch! Don't wake me up like that! It hurts!" Crono whined while sobbing his head.

"Well, I certainly hope so, you airhead! You had us worried that you wouldn't wake up!" He heard a very familiar feminine voice.

"Still, Lucca, please don't do that agai- wait...LUCCA!?" He pretty much shouted springing up to her face with widened eyes. The sudden closeness took her back with surprise, making her fall on his bottom with a small shriek.

"Hey! Don't do that! You scared me!" The scientist shouted back, but stopped herself when she felt Crono hugging her fiercely. She knew her friend pretty well, and she knew Crono seldom hugged someone. Add that to the list of "Bizarre things in the quest of time."

"I'm so glad you're ok!"

At that moment, his other companion entered the tent they were residing at. "You two are really loud today." He spoke with a bit of annoyance in his tone.

"Glenn!" Crono exclaimed happily, separating himself from Lucca and going over his other friend, putting his hands on his shoulders,shaking him repeatedly.

"Hey hey, keep it down lad!" The frog exclaimed while shaking off his arms in order to keep himself from losing his balance. He thought that Crono was strangely joyful today.

"What happened to ya lad? After you woke up, it's like you were a completely different person."

"Woke up?" Crono raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been sleeping! He was practically thrown out in another time from his friends!

"Yes, woke up. Ayla found us sleeping in a forest around here, and brought us to her tent in order to heal from our battle with Magus." Glenn explained.

Had he?

By instinct, he hovered his hand over his wallet, clearly remembering of a certain item he had pulled out during his 'dream.' When he inspected it, he saw the amount of golden liquid inside it, and smirked confidently while closing his eyes.

Glenn and Lucca were really puzzled by the behavior of their friend since he had woken up. The scientist was the first one to speak up heir concerns.

"What happened to you while you were sleeping?"

Opening his eyes with newfound confidence remembering the faces of the Crowe siblings. Crono spoke.

"Let's say...my purpose for this journey has been strengthened."

 **End**

* * *

 **Man, I just LOVE Chrono Trigger. In fact, a part of me asked myself how could I dare combine it with something else, but I seriously believed I could pull something out with a Tales of entry.**

 **I haven't played Berseria for now, since I have a tight budget, but I investigated a little and watched some cutscenes to make it more believable. Sorry if I went OOC with any of the characters. Particularly Velvet.  
**

 **I was seriously debating whether include a kissing scene or not in order not to go OOC. Velvet had for so long tried to cure Laphicet, when suddenly our spiky hero uses one the best stuff on the main game called elixir to cure him. The kissing doesn't represent she's already in love with Crono, merely that she's immensely grateful and couldn't control her feelings.**

 **I hope I didn't go overboard with that.**

 **So! Loved it? Hate it? Leave your response in a review pls!**

 **Vc1500, out!**

 **Personal opinion: I think I rushed it middle-way, but let me know what you think :D  
**


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